Welcome to Travel + Explore & Play with Sallee Jay, I am your host. You know the old adage, “all good things must come to an end?” Well, this is the last blog detailing my 2022 travels to Africa— I know you are devastated, me too! As you can see from the picture, our last stop was in Egypt!!

I have always wanted to visit Egypt, primarily because I grew up with Egyptian “artifacts” (souvenirs that my parents acquired on their travels through the country) in my childhood home. From that point, my curiosity was peaked about Africa and all things Egypt. I mean, who doesn’t want to see the Pyramids and Sphinx in real life?? The ability to visit ruins from ancient civilizations, intrigues me and Egypt did not disappoint— the sites are jaw dropping!

With an 18-hour layover, we made the best use of our time in Egypt and booked a private half-day layover tour of Giza, with Viator, a TripAdvisor affiliate.

Our tour was curated with a private driver and Egyptologist guide, to help ease us through the Cairo airport travel visa procedures before whisking us away to the Giza Plateau to see the world-famous pyramids. We were able take in the massive ancient tombs and the Great Sphinx, enjoy a camel ride and visit the Valley Temple. Next, we headed to the Papyrus Institute, a museum and shop dedicated to educating individuals on the process of creating papyrus paper and all of its many additional properties. Afterward, we feasted on an Egyptian lunch before returning to the airport for our outbound flight. While, that is a pretty decent summary of our day, read on below for more intimate details of our Egypt layover!

If I am honest, by the time Nana and I arrived in Cairo we had a gamut of emotions. I think we were both tired — the flight from Entebbe to Cairo was a little rough for Nana, she was sitting next to a little baby. I passed out as I was still recovering from trekking. I think we were both excited to see the country and explore. However, it was one of the last legs of the trip so, home was on the brain. We’d had a full trip starting with — Istanbul, Safari, Co-Op Visits, Cultural Experience, Trekking and so much more and now EGYPT! I think we were both a little overwhelmed too!

If I can say one thing for Egypt, it is one of the ABSOLUTE HOTTEST places that I have ever been on earth!!!! My skin is burning just thinking about the sub-Saharan sun rays’ that burned through the layers of my clothes, to scorch my delicate, soft, beautiful brown skin (I know, DRAMATIC!!).

Anywho… For those who think I am being a drama queen about the heat, with searing hot temperatures July and August are the worst times to visit Egypt. The average temperature for Cairo in August for a typical day range from a high of 101°F (39°C) to a low of 72°F (22°C). Some would describe it as very warm with a gentle breeze, I describe it as the “devil’s armpit” and as for the breeze, the summer has a different pattern of surface winds or prevailed dry winds that absorb heat. Basically you are in a perpetual cycle of hot air, as the northern dry winds dominate all directions. For comparison, the hottest month in Cairo, July, has days with highs of 102°F (39°C) and lows of 71°F (21°C). It felt like it was 500°F, on the day that we arrived.

The advantage of braving the heat is crowds are thin and costs are way down, except on the coast where temperatures are much cooler. If you do head here in mid-summer though, it's mango season so eat up!

We were met and assisted by our driver at the airport and picked up our Egyptologist guide Mohamad, along the way. We headed to the Giza pyramid complex, also called the Giza necropolis. The site sits on the Giza Plateau in Greater Cairo, Egypt that includes: the Great Pyramid of Giza, the Pyramid of Khafre, and the Pyramid of Menkaure, along with their associated pyramid complexes and the Great Sphinx of Giza. All were built during the Fourth Dynasty of the Old Kingdom of Ancient Egypt, between 2600 and 2500 BC. The site also includes several cemeteries and the remains of a workers' village, according to Wikipedia.

Mohamad discussed the tomb before us and 4th Dynasty, in great detail before letting us go off to explore. We walked up to the Great Pyramid of Khufu, which as Mohamad shared with us contains about 2,300,000 blocks of stone. To live in a modern world and be able to witness the technical skill, innovation, precision and execution of ancient architecture is incredible. Imagining the hundreds of thousands of people forced into free labor to create these magnificent structures is both bitter and sweet. The pyramids stand tall and majestic, against a backdrop of blue skies and sand for miles.

It was at this point; we began to be overwhelmed by the heat. We headed back to the car to head towards our camel ride and to see more of the complex.

Confessions of a travel Blogger:

I wanted to ride the camels a little longer!! As many of you know, this was Nana’s first international trip and while she was down for the adventure, I don’t think she was feeling that camel action like me!! Pleased that she even had the experience, I had to go with the flow of the trip and do what she wanted in this instance. To her credit, she leaned into the experience! As we were riding, she exclaimed “Look at me!” I turned around to see her riding the camel with both of her hands in the air and the biggest smile on her face. When we got of off the camels, she hugged me and genuinely thanked me for encouraging her to try new things. To me experiencing her hesitation and fear turn to fun and joy, was worth more than missing out on 15 additional minutes of a camel ride! I’ll remember the moment forever, thanks for being a rider Nana!!

Camels are tall and the views of the Gaza Plateau are breathtaking. I have a lot of respect for the ancient nomads and settlers that came to Egypt and saw a vision for civilization, it really is a unique place. However, once again the blazing sun defeated us and we surrendered back to the car to see the Sphinx.

Estimated to be as old as 4,500 years, The Great Sphinx is one of the only surviving Seven Wonders of the Ancient World. It’s located in the Giza plateau, on the west bank of the Nile River, approximately a half-hour drive heading west of Cairo. At 240 ft (73 m) high and 240 ft (73 m) long, it’s the largest surviving statue from the ancient world. For years, Egyptian rulers worshiped this mysterious sphinx as a powerful form of sun god.and clearly their prayers were answered. You see me, shining supreme, bright like the SUN!

It will also forever be known, as the place where I dropped my passport!! Mohamad pointed out a wishing well to us as we were walking to see the Sphinx. As I went into my bag to grab coins for Nana and I to make a wish, I guess my passport hit the ground. Luckily a nice bystander saw it fall and returned it back to me. Interestingly enough, the same gentleman ended taking all of my very TOURISTY shots, in front of the Sphinx statue. He was a GOD send and kind of cute. Nana hid under the shade of the complex leading to the Sphinx to stay out of the sun, she was “beet red” in the face. Our next stop was to learn all about plants and paper making in Egypt.

Egyptians discovered how to use the Nile’s papyrus plant to make paper as early as 3,000 BC—and the age-old process still survives today. There are numerous names for papyrus grass. Papyrus is a plant in the genus Cyperus plant classification, which is native to Madagascar.

The Papyrus Institute takes visitors on a journey through the craft using step-by-step demonstrations and extensive displays of papyrus artworks to view and buy, with typical works showing Giza’s Pyramids, pharaohs, and hieroglyphs. The prices here are higher than in Cairo’s bazaars and regular souvenir shops as the artworks are certified for using genuine papyrus.

While you can explore the Papyrus Institute on your own, most travelers discover this gem while on a Cairo sightseeing tour. It is a great place to get last minute, customized gifts for your friends and family back home, I certainly picked up some items here. Authentic papyrus paper also glows in the dark. Imagine learning about papyrus and then someone turns off the lights, to reveal glow in the dark images, some differing from the original paintings presented when the lights were on. It’s cool and creepy at the same time.

We decided, this was a good time to find some good air conditioning, food and plan out the rest of our day. Learning from our previous mistake in Istanbul, Nana and I made sure to get clarification on how much lunch was going to be, before heading out to the restaurant.

We enjoyed a nice buffet style lunch with lots of fresh vegetables and prepared meats, that were served to us at our table. They had this eggplant dish that was to die for and the desserts were not half bad either. Nana and I decided that we had enough of the sub-saharan sun for this trip and opted to go shop for gold and jewelry for family and then head back to the airport.

I was not in the market for anything, however, I purchased a very cute Africa shaped pendant to commemorate my trip. I wear it daily and it is my reminder to live FEARLESS and in the moment.

We arrived back to the airport with more than enough time to make our flight and definitely could have explored more of the country while we were there. In fact after honoring our request to be dropped off, the driver came into the airport about 20 minutes later to make sure that we did not want to see any other sites or drive to any other places — yes, we tipped him LOL. I kind of regret not visiting any museums, however, from what I was told, you need at least a full day to explore The National Museum of Egyptian Civilization and I did not want to have to rush through in order to see the other sites. I am hopeful to go back soon, during a cooler time of year as I want to explore more of the 72 museums in country and I want to explore the coastal region.

This was a very special trip and I was able to share it with a very special person in my life. I am proud of myself. While I do enjoy a good baecation, getting it on your own merit and standard hits different. I set the bar for something much greater, like I always do and for that, I am grateful. This trip solidified a lot of things for me and reaffirmed my values.

I am convinced the reason that I did not experience this wonderful country until my 40th year, is because I am free from bondage FOREVER! I see why the lord said, “Let my people go!” It is too HOT for all that mess Pharaoh was on.. LOL My bible readers will, catch on to the references.

I will never forget Nana’s first international trip and I hope you all enjoyed following along. I learned so much as I journeyed through Africa, about myself and others. To see Nana be so BRAVE about so many different new experiences was absolutely an honor to witness. Also, the fact that we have family that has lived, traveled and served abroad all over the world in many capacities - and I was the family representative chosen to take Nana on her first international exploration is HUGE!!! I am honored and humbled that my family trusted me with our most precious resource, the family GEM and mother to many.

I celebrate and honor the woman that I have become in this season of my life. I work hard for the experiences and manifestations that I am able to bring to life and I am Extremely grateful to be able to live out my DREAMS daily! I will cherish the memories for a lifetime and cannot wait to get back to the continent.

XOXO

Sallee Jay